I have been having great victory in the Lord recently. I have been able to abstain from sex and even though this is extremely difficult for me I feel very rewarded by God in doing so.
A couple months ago I changed my profile on a dating site to say something like; "Tired of dating and am only looking for people that want to discuss how great Christ is. If you want or need prayer for any situation in your life send me an email with your name and the situation you need prayer about and I promise to lift you to the Lord in prayer".
I received an email from a lady asking me to pray for her Aunt that was having a leg amputated. She also mentioned that she had not found a church in the area and was hoping to get connected soon and find a way to juggle her work schedule as to find a way to publicly worship in a church again. I immediately prayed for the Aunt, her doctors and the family. I also sent the gal a message with a link to my church and asked her to check it out online.
A couple weeks had passed and the woman wrote me a letter of thanks as her Aunt was doing very good after the amputation. She also said she had found Reality Olympia but hadn't been able to attend services yet as she worked all day Sunday as well as Thursday nights.
We emailed back and forth several times for the next few weeks about God and church. I was not really interested in dating her or anyone else as each time I date someone it always leads to sin. After a few weeks of emails she sent me a text message. After many days of texting I finally asked her if I could call her. She agreed and we talked on the phone for over an hour and really hit it off. It was a Tuesday and we were both off that day so I asked her to lunch.
Now I have to admit I was really confused as I remembered from her pictures that she was a black lady but after talking to her on the phone she didn't sound like any black person I have ever spoke with. After we agreed to meet for lunch I actually went online to see her pictures again as I was convinced that I was confused at whom I was about to meet. Well, I was surprised she really was black. I immediately felt convicted for judging her solely on her voice and speech.
Well I met her at a restaurant for lunch and we just hit it off. We talked about God and family and past relationships and our desires for future relationships. We laughed, she cried, it was just an incredible first meeting. We both were at the same point in our lives and were tired of the dating scene. Yet we were both very attracted to each other.
As I always do I started moving way too fast and about scared her away. I quickly realized that by chasing women away from me was a defense mechanism that I had developed to not let anyone get all that close to me. Ah man, how great is God for giving me the ability to recognize my own faults and shortcomings.
As I mentioned things started to heat up pretty fast even though we both agreed how important as Christians it is that we remain celibate until we are married to whomever God brings us to. Of course this was much easier to say than to practice. We came really close to crossing that line that God had put on our hearts to not cross. Not once but several times.
We prayed about it together and independently to gain strength and courage to be able to spend time together and not disappoint God. We set some boundaries and it has been going well since.
Last week I let her stay on the couch one night as we had been talking very late and she has a 40 minute drive home. I felt really safe doing this as my daughter was home and I knew I would behave as my goal is to be a living example to Alexandria.
Yesterday I knew we were going to a birthday party after I got off work and so I prayed early in the morning and throughout the day for strength and will power to overcome sin with this lady once again. We went to the party and after went back to my house and watched a great Christian movie called What If? By the time the movie was over and we talked about the lessons of the movie it was after midnight. She was wanting to head home but was extremely tired and was dreading the drive. My first thought was she had to go as Alexandria was at her Mom's house and I can't be trusted with a sexy woman alone in my house.
That is when I said a quick prayer to God to continue to lead me away from sin. I then gave her the option of staying on my couch and she gave it some serious thought and accepted the offer.
I headed to bed and she hunkered down on the couch.
WOW, I slept great. I woke up with such thankfulness to God for giving us the strength and courage to live for Christ last night. This was such a huge victory against Satan for me. I have been praising God all morning. The reason that Christ gave me this victory so easily is I started laying this problem at His feet early in the day in anticipation of our date. I continued to pray for Jesus to deliver me from all temptation throughout the day.
Of course the answer as always is found in the Holy Word.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Thank you Lord Jesus for once again showing me your greatness in delivering me from the enemy. I praise you Lord as it was your strength and will in me that kept me in line last night. I praise you Father for bringing me to You all day in prayer and the wisdom your Holy Spirit is providing me for your Glory. In Jesus name I give thanks as I love you Lord. You are my Life, my Peace, My Love, My Lord. In Jesus name I pray. Amen
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Sunday October 16, 2011
I used to be one of those people that said "I don't need to go to church to worship God". I hear these same type of comments from friends and family often. I worry about the people I love and care about that don't have an active relationship with Christ.
Here is the thing. You wouldn't leave San Diego for Boston without a map or GPS and hope that you would just miraculously end up by fate in Boston by picking roads at random. Yet people think because of grace that they can go down any road they so choose and still end up in Heaven.
God has given us a GPS for our lives and it's called The Holy Bible. This Atlas gives us all the directions we need to get to Heaven. It's very clear that there is only one road that will get us to the Kingdom and that road is through Jesus Christ. All other roads will be as the rock band AC/DC has sung about and lead us down the Highway to Hell.
The great news is that at anytime a person traveling down that highway to hell can change course and be saved. All they have to do is ask God to lead their life and forgive their sins. Lets witness to these people and get them on that road with Christ. Lets show them how God has saved us and changed our lives for His Glory. We must be walking examples of God's love and beauty at all times through our own actions.
Then why is it so tough for us to travel the path through Christ? I believe it's because the Devil is always trying to tempt us into detours. It's no different than how he deceived Eve in the Garden to question God and His authority. Everything we encounter in our life that tempts us to justify not walking with Christ is a temptation of the enemy.
My prayer today is for all my friends, family and enemies to start using the Bible as their life's GPS system. It is the only way we will all be reunited in Heaven as a family of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I pray that we all stop making excuses for the enemy who will always attempt to destroy our lives and tear down the Body of Christ.
We must be strong and start worshipping the God that was the beginning and will be the end of all things. We must give glory onto Christ for everything we have and everything we don't have. God created us not to glorify ourselves but to glorify Him. He did not Create us to die in Hell but to live eternally with Him in Heaven and to give Him all glory all the time. It all starts with his Word. It all will be the greatest journey that our finite minds will ever witness.
Please don't give up on sharing with your friends and family the good news of the Gospel. Jesus commanded each of us to never stop fighting for Him and the Kingdom of Heaven. God wants us all to be saved through the blood of Christ and to travel that road with Christ. Jesus will be carrying us when we are too weak to walk on our own. Please Brothers and Sisters, there is not a person on this planet that is not worthy of becoming a disciple of Christ. Please do not every give up and stop doing His work until Father calls you home to Heaven.
Here is the thing. You wouldn't leave San Diego for Boston without a map or GPS and hope that you would just miraculously end up by fate in Boston by picking roads at random. Yet people think because of grace that they can go down any road they so choose and still end up in Heaven.
God has given us a GPS for our lives and it's called The Holy Bible. This Atlas gives us all the directions we need to get to Heaven. It's very clear that there is only one road that will get us to the Kingdom and that road is through Jesus Christ. All other roads will be as the rock band AC/DC has sung about and lead us down the Highway to Hell.
The great news is that at anytime a person traveling down that highway to hell can change course and be saved. All they have to do is ask God to lead their life and forgive their sins. Lets witness to these people and get them on that road with Christ. Lets show them how God has saved us and changed our lives for His Glory. We must be walking examples of God's love and beauty at all times through our own actions.
Then why is it so tough for us to travel the path through Christ? I believe it's because the Devil is always trying to tempt us into detours. It's no different than how he deceived Eve in the Garden to question God and His authority. Everything we encounter in our life that tempts us to justify not walking with Christ is a temptation of the enemy.
My prayer today is for all my friends, family and enemies to start using the Bible as their life's GPS system. It is the only way we will all be reunited in Heaven as a family of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I pray that we all stop making excuses for the enemy who will always attempt to destroy our lives and tear down the Body of Christ.
We must be strong and start worshipping the God that was the beginning and will be the end of all things. We must give glory onto Christ for everything we have and everything we don't have. God created us not to glorify ourselves but to glorify Him. He did not Create us to die in Hell but to live eternally with Him in Heaven and to give Him all glory all the time. It all starts with his Word. It all will be the greatest journey that our finite minds will ever witness.
Please don't give up on sharing with your friends and family the good news of the Gospel. Jesus commanded each of us to never stop fighting for Him and the Kingdom of Heaven. God wants us all to be saved through the blood of Christ and to travel that road with Christ. Jesus will be carrying us when we are too weak to walk on our own. Please Brothers and Sisters, there is not a person on this planet that is not worthy of becoming a disciple of Christ. Please do not every give up and stop doing His work until Father calls you home to Heaven.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Sunday October 9, 2011
This past February I started a new sales career for Clayton Homes. We are the largest home builder in the United States specializing in Manufactured and Modular Homes. Me landing at Clayton was most definitely a God thing. As a single Dad I needed a position in a company that would afford me flexibility and also that was conducive with my daughters schedule and have me home nightly.
I had been looking for a job frantically as my unemployment had run out and the job I was suppose to start at Stockyard Meat Company disappeared due to reasons beyond my control. I sent out my resume and visited all kinds of different business. My prayer life was in overdrive as my savings was just about drained. All of a sudden I received two calls for interviews on the same day. Oh how I was praising God for my phone ringing.
The first interview was at a furniture store at 11AM and at 11:30AM I was offered the sales position. I immediately accepted and was asked to start in two weeks. My only concern was I would have to work on Sundays. I figured God would figure it out for me as He had just gifted me this job.
My second interview was at Clayton at 2PM. It went well but I was told if I scored well on the test I would receive a call in a week for another interview. Oh how I really wanted this job at Clayton. Even though I would have split days off and the housing market was in the toilet I just knew this was a better fit immediately. For starters I would always have Sunday's off as they believed Sunday's were for God and family. I told Steve whom had interviewed me that I had just accepted another job 3 hours earlier but I would prefer to work for Clayton. He told me that he was going to recommend me for the position but he really had no say on the matter. Steve also suggested if I get called back to a second interview with David the store manager that I should not mention the other job offer.
A couple days later I received a call to come in and meet David. David and I hit it off instantly. I quickly discovered that David was on the leadership team at New Bridge, a church I had considered joining a few months prior. We also discovered we had some mutual friends in common. What a great interview this turned out to be but yet David was not at liberty to make the final hiring decision either. I went against the advice Steve had offered and told David about the other job offer and also confided that I would prefer to work for Clayton as well. David suggested that I follow my heart and do what was best for my daughter and I as he couldn't guarantee me a job as I had to wait and meet his two immediate managers and they were going to fly in the next week to conduct the final interviews.
I started praying like crazy for God to lead me. I already had the sure thing at the furniture store but my heart was telling me Clayton was where I needed to be. I felt that the furniture store was going to be a job until I could move forward with my sales career but Clayton was a career opportunity. After praying about it for days I was running out of time.
Finally the day came that I was interviewed by the Regional Manager and West Coast Zone President for Clayton and it went great. They told me as long as I passed the drug screen and background check I was hired. I had no fear about the drug screen but the background check was a concern. After all I had not lived a clean and Christian lifestyle for very long. I talked to David about my concerns on the background check and he said it was up to HR and God at this point.
I was three days from starting at the furniture store and after many hours of prayer I felt God was leading me to a scary place. I walked into the furniture store and spoke to the manager and told him I needed a few more days as I had been offered another job and was confused by what I was to do and where I would be working. There was a risk that he would say never mind and good luck. I was pleasantly surprised when he told me he would give me a week to decide and then he followed by selling me on why I should sell furniture. WOW, God had my back once again!
Now it was taking Ray in HR forever to order my background and drug test. I quickly realized that I had to make a decision before I officially was hired by Clayton. I prayed about it and out of complete faith gave it to God and went back to the furniture store and thanked them for the opportunity and told them I was taking the other job. It was five business days later before I finally got the official word from Clayton and I knew that I was tested on my faith in the Lord and had passed with flying colors.
I immediately loved my new job and sold my first house on my 3rd day (there is that 3 again) to a great Christian lady. I was welcomed as part of a very tight team and everyone was so willing to help train me on selling houses.
In the first 5 months I wrote up about 10 sales but 8 of them fell apart. I was getting very discouraged and started to wonder if I had made a terrible mistake. Even though I knew God brought me to Clayton in part to be mentored by my Christian leader and manager David, I was really getting angry at how hard it was to make any money selling houses when all of my deals were unwinding.
I met with David and told him I was considering looking for another job in mid August as I was tired of being broke. David told me he was going to cross the line and ask me some questions that were none of his business. I told him that I respected him enough to feel free to ask anything. He asked me very frankly if I was tithing at church or just making an offering? I immediately answered with, how in the world could I tithe on the weekly draw I get? David challenged me to start tithing and let God prove to me that I couldn't afford not to tithe.
That Sunday I went to church and dropped a check for ten percent of my gross income for that month. Within the next 3 days I sold 2 more houses. I have since sold more homes that are good deals that will get to the finish line and have had two more houses close. We don't get paid until the house closes.
Today I get to go to church and drop the largest check I have ever written to God and it feels wonderful. The best part is that I know in the future God will keep giving more opportunities to give back to him not just in my tithes but also in sharing my gifts that he has blessed me with.
I thank God daily for bringing me to work at Clayton Homes. I thank him daily for the friendship and mentoring that David has enriched my life with. I thank Him daily for the growth and maturity I have been receiving and all the blessings I have been given. I thank Jesus for my weekly pay that I am given and how amazing it is that He only wants to keep a tenth and desires me to take the rest. I am so blessed and have been taught so much about faith in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I had been looking for a job frantically as my unemployment had run out and the job I was suppose to start at Stockyard Meat Company disappeared due to reasons beyond my control. I sent out my resume and visited all kinds of different business. My prayer life was in overdrive as my savings was just about drained. All of a sudden I received two calls for interviews on the same day. Oh how I was praising God for my phone ringing.
The first interview was at a furniture store at 11AM and at 11:30AM I was offered the sales position. I immediately accepted and was asked to start in two weeks. My only concern was I would have to work on Sundays. I figured God would figure it out for me as He had just gifted me this job.
My second interview was at Clayton at 2PM. It went well but I was told if I scored well on the test I would receive a call in a week for another interview. Oh how I really wanted this job at Clayton. Even though I would have split days off and the housing market was in the toilet I just knew this was a better fit immediately. For starters I would always have Sunday's off as they believed Sunday's were for God and family. I told Steve whom had interviewed me that I had just accepted another job 3 hours earlier but I would prefer to work for Clayton. He told me that he was going to recommend me for the position but he really had no say on the matter. Steve also suggested if I get called back to a second interview with David the store manager that I should not mention the other job offer.
A couple days later I received a call to come in and meet David. David and I hit it off instantly. I quickly discovered that David was on the leadership team at New Bridge, a church I had considered joining a few months prior. We also discovered we had some mutual friends in common. What a great interview this turned out to be but yet David was not at liberty to make the final hiring decision either. I went against the advice Steve had offered and told David about the other job offer and also confided that I would prefer to work for Clayton as well. David suggested that I follow my heart and do what was best for my daughter and I as he couldn't guarantee me a job as I had to wait and meet his two immediate managers and they were going to fly in the next week to conduct the final interviews.
I started praying like crazy for God to lead me. I already had the sure thing at the furniture store but my heart was telling me Clayton was where I needed to be. I felt that the furniture store was going to be a job until I could move forward with my sales career but Clayton was a career opportunity. After praying about it for days I was running out of time.
Finally the day came that I was interviewed by the Regional Manager and West Coast Zone President for Clayton and it went great. They told me as long as I passed the drug screen and background check I was hired. I had no fear about the drug screen but the background check was a concern. After all I had not lived a clean and Christian lifestyle for very long. I talked to David about my concerns on the background check and he said it was up to HR and God at this point.
I was three days from starting at the furniture store and after many hours of prayer I felt God was leading me to a scary place. I walked into the furniture store and spoke to the manager and told him I needed a few more days as I had been offered another job and was confused by what I was to do and where I would be working. There was a risk that he would say never mind and good luck. I was pleasantly surprised when he told me he would give me a week to decide and then he followed by selling me on why I should sell furniture. WOW, God had my back once again!
Now it was taking Ray in HR forever to order my background and drug test. I quickly realized that I had to make a decision before I officially was hired by Clayton. I prayed about it and out of complete faith gave it to God and went back to the furniture store and thanked them for the opportunity and told them I was taking the other job. It was five business days later before I finally got the official word from Clayton and I knew that I was tested on my faith in the Lord and had passed with flying colors.
I immediately loved my new job and sold my first house on my 3rd day (there is that 3 again) to a great Christian lady. I was welcomed as part of a very tight team and everyone was so willing to help train me on selling houses.
In the first 5 months I wrote up about 10 sales but 8 of them fell apart. I was getting very discouraged and started to wonder if I had made a terrible mistake. Even though I knew God brought me to Clayton in part to be mentored by my Christian leader and manager David, I was really getting angry at how hard it was to make any money selling houses when all of my deals were unwinding.
I met with David and told him I was considering looking for another job in mid August as I was tired of being broke. David told me he was going to cross the line and ask me some questions that were none of his business. I told him that I respected him enough to feel free to ask anything. He asked me very frankly if I was tithing at church or just making an offering? I immediately answered with, how in the world could I tithe on the weekly draw I get? David challenged me to start tithing and let God prove to me that I couldn't afford not to tithe.
That Sunday I went to church and dropped a check for ten percent of my gross income for that month. Within the next 3 days I sold 2 more houses. I have since sold more homes that are good deals that will get to the finish line and have had two more houses close. We don't get paid until the house closes.
Today I get to go to church and drop the largest check I have ever written to God and it feels wonderful. The best part is that I know in the future God will keep giving more opportunities to give back to him not just in my tithes but also in sharing my gifts that he has blessed me with.
I thank God daily for bringing me to work at Clayton Homes. I thank him daily for the friendship and mentoring that David has enriched my life with. I thank Him daily for the growth and maturity I have been receiving and all the blessings I have been given. I thank Jesus for my weekly pay that I am given and how amazing it is that He only wants to keep a tenth and desires me to take the rest. I am so blessed and have been taught so much about faith in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Thursday October 6, 2011
When I met my ex wife her Dad had a video store with a large porn section in it. When he lost his business to the bank we went in with his permission and cleaned out most of the Disney movies for our kids and large box of porn for ourselves. As husband and wife we occasionally enjoyed watching these movies together.
After we were divorced I ended up with a woman that was addicted to porn and thankfully, it in a way ruined porn for me. This woman would turn it on in our bedroom every single night after our kids were asleep. Like anything in life, too much of something will cause it to lose it's luster.
I am not quite sure how but I ended up with this huge box of porn after the divorce and this other relationship ended. I really have not been that interested in that box of porn over the last few years for a couple reasons. First of all I was now in a new relationship with Christ and I knew whenever I did look at porn I was disappointing God. Secondly this relationship with the gal that had the addiction to porn really ruined my appetite for it all together. Yet I still had this really big box of porn in my garage buried in a corner.
Why was I not able to just throw this crap away? I had many reasons to justify holding onto the box. For one thing it had monetary value. I considered selling it and donating the money to the church or a charity. Of course I knew that God would not want that tainted money. I even justified this box as sentimental and part of my past and it would be a great reminder of where God had brought me through redemption.
As you see like everyone else I am able to justify my sin too.
About a week ago or so I was chatting with a young lady from the Seattle area on the computer. We shared a common love for Jesus and started messaging about our past sins and struggles. She confided in me that porn was a sin that had a grip on her at one point. During this exchange of messages I mentioned to her that I had this box buried in my garage and I had thought many times about throwing it out but couldn't bring myself to just do it.
She challenged me to go find the box and look at it and pray over it. She told me she would pray for me to overcome whatever it was that was preventing me from cleaning out my garage.
I was not able to even go look at that box. A matter of fact I quickly got myself distracted and allowed myself to block it out completely.
Tuesday morning I woke up and saw that this lady had sent me an email and asked if I had overcome my box? What incredible timing I thought. It was garbage day.
The crazy thing is you can set your clock to my garbage truck coming at 7:30 every Tuesday morning. Yet I read this message at 8:00 and the truck hadn't come yet. Now my excuse was I can't do this when my daughter is home as she will be asking all kinds of questions about what am I throwing away. At 8:30 I took Alexandria to school and I came home and that truck had still not shown up yet.
I go into the garage and dig out the box and make a quick sweep through the house and make sure all the porn is in the trash can. I DID IT!!!! I was victorious at getting this box of porn out of my house. Within ten minutes of throwing that box in the trash the truck was here.
The only time in nine years that truck was late and it was this Tuesday. God continues to work miracles in my life on a regular basis.
I immediately went upstairs and prayed thanks to God for having this lady email me and pray for me. I thanked the Lord for finally giving me the strength to eliminate the enemy from my house once and for all. I then emailed my friend a thank you.
So here is what I have learned from this. Even though I have given my heart to Jesus, the Devil still can fool me and convince me of many reasons to be disobedient to God. That box of porn was Satan's way of always remaining in my home and was the distraction I needed every time God commanded me to throw it away. That box was an example of me not following the first and most important commandment of loving God with all my heart, mind and soul.
Even though the Bible doesn't specifically talk about porn there are several passages that do address this sin I believe.
Mathew 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
James 4:7-8 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Finally the last two verses I want to share is the one that this new friend reminded me of by her actions and prayers and what Jesus reminded me of by putting her in my life at the perfect moment to help me.
Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it
Dear Father,
I thank you and praise you for your faithfulness and you never giving up on my broken sinful soul. You are so loving and I am not deserving of your grace yet you continue to reach out to me through your servants everyday. Thank Jesus for killing the death that I deserve. Thank you for giving me eternal life with your Father in Heaven. I am so thankful of your love and grace that I am in complete awe of everything about you Lord. In Jesus name I pray, AMEN
After we were divorced I ended up with a woman that was addicted to porn and thankfully, it in a way ruined porn for me. This woman would turn it on in our bedroom every single night after our kids were asleep. Like anything in life, too much of something will cause it to lose it's luster.
I am not quite sure how but I ended up with this huge box of porn after the divorce and this other relationship ended. I really have not been that interested in that box of porn over the last few years for a couple reasons. First of all I was now in a new relationship with Christ and I knew whenever I did look at porn I was disappointing God. Secondly this relationship with the gal that had the addiction to porn really ruined my appetite for it all together. Yet I still had this really big box of porn in my garage buried in a corner.
Why was I not able to just throw this crap away? I had many reasons to justify holding onto the box. For one thing it had monetary value. I considered selling it and donating the money to the church or a charity. Of course I knew that God would not want that tainted money. I even justified this box as sentimental and part of my past and it would be a great reminder of where God had brought me through redemption.
As you see like everyone else I am able to justify my sin too.
About a week ago or so I was chatting with a young lady from the Seattle area on the computer. We shared a common love for Jesus and started messaging about our past sins and struggles. She confided in me that porn was a sin that had a grip on her at one point. During this exchange of messages I mentioned to her that I had this box buried in my garage and I had thought many times about throwing it out but couldn't bring myself to just do it.
She challenged me to go find the box and look at it and pray over it. She told me she would pray for me to overcome whatever it was that was preventing me from cleaning out my garage.
I was not able to even go look at that box. A matter of fact I quickly got myself distracted and allowed myself to block it out completely.
Tuesday morning I woke up and saw that this lady had sent me an email and asked if I had overcome my box? What incredible timing I thought. It was garbage day.
The crazy thing is you can set your clock to my garbage truck coming at 7:30 every Tuesday morning. Yet I read this message at 8:00 and the truck hadn't come yet. Now my excuse was I can't do this when my daughter is home as she will be asking all kinds of questions about what am I throwing away. At 8:30 I took Alexandria to school and I came home and that truck had still not shown up yet.
I go into the garage and dig out the box and make a quick sweep through the house and make sure all the porn is in the trash can. I DID IT!!!! I was victorious at getting this box of porn out of my house. Within ten minutes of throwing that box in the trash the truck was here.
The only time in nine years that truck was late and it was this Tuesday. God continues to work miracles in my life on a regular basis.
I immediately went upstairs and prayed thanks to God for having this lady email me and pray for me. I thanked the Lord for finally giving me the strength to eliminate the enemy from my house once and for all. I then emailed my friend a thank you.
So here is what I have learned from this. Even though I have given my heart to Jesus, the Devil still can fool me and convince me of many reasons to be disobedient to God. That box of porn was Satan's way of always remaining in my home and was the distraction I needed every time God commanded me to throw it away. That box was an example of me not following the first and most important commandment of loving God with all my heart, mind and soul.
Even though the Bible doesn't specifically talk about porn there are several passages that do address this sin I believe.
Mathew 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
James 4:7-8 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Finally the last two verses I want to share is the one that this new friend reminded me of by her actions and prayers and what Jesus reminded me of by putting her in my life at the perfect moment to help me.
Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it
Dear Father,
I thank you and praise you for your faithfulness and you never giving up on my broken sinful soul. You are so loving and I am not deserving of your grace yet you continue to reach out to me through your servants everyday. Thank Jesus for killing the death that I deserve. Thank you for giving me eternal life with your Father in Heaven. I am so thankful of your love and grace that I am in complete awe of everything about you Lord. In Jesus name I pray, AMEN
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Saturday October 1, 2011
Most believers will agree that no sin is better or worse than another. What I mean is we believe in God's eyes that to lie is as sinful and hurtful to God as murder or adultery. The Bible is very clear that we all fall short. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Then why do we attempt to judge other people's sin worse than our own? When we do this we are losing sight of the first two commandments. When the Lawyer asked Jesus in Mathew 22:34-40 34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
I believe if we keep these two commandments all the others will fall into place. If we love God with everything we have then we will not be committing these other sins. If we love God with our all then we will automtically love our neighbor as we love ourself as that is God's moral law to us, His creation. When we love God and our neighbors as we are told here then we will be incapable of breaking any commandment and sinning. Yet we are incapable of doing this as the blood of Adam flows through each of us and therefore we sin.
We as Christians fall short day in and day out. We judge others unfairly all the time. We tend to judge homosexuals very harshly yet we are told throughout the Bible that there is only one perfect and fair judge. Luke:37-38 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Mathew 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
You see when we get into topics such as homosexuality or abortions we all agree if we believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God by His Holy Spirit that these acts are definitly sin. Yet we are also told to love our neighbor as we love ourself. No place does it say to only love our straight neighbors or people that are pro-life. We are told by the Lord to love God with all of our soul and then to love our neighbor. We are told not to ever judge another person as only God can do that perfectly and fairly yet we tend to go against the Word anyways.
I tell you the Truth my brothers and sisters in Christ, if we don't stop tryng to justify our sins as righteous and worry about our own selves we too will be judged fairly and it will not be anything to look forward to. My point is that God loves us all no matter our sexuality. No matter if we have killed a baby through abortion. He loves those of us that have committed adultery and destroyed our lives with drugs and lust. He hates all sin but through the blood of Jesus has washed away our sins and offered us to have life with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I praise our awesome and loving Lord for this and I pray that I am able to stop judging others for their sins and that I can work on my life and rid my life of the sins I struggle with daily. When I am able to accomplish these goals I will be honoring my Lord God with everything I have. I will then be able to love my neighbor in a way that will also show love to Christ as well. This will never be an easy task but yet it will be a task worth accomplishing with rewards far more greater than any of us can ever imagine.
Then why do we attempt to judge other people's sin worse than our own? When we do this we are losing sight of the first two commandments. When the Lawyer asked Jesus in Mathew 22:34-40 34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
I believe if we keep these two commandments all the others will fall into place. If we love God with everything we have then we will not be committing these other sins. If we love God with our all then we will automtically love our neighbor as we love ourself as that is God's moral law to us, His creation. When we love God and our neighbors as we are told here then we will be incapable of breaking any commandment and sinning. Yet we are incapable of doing this as the blood of Adam flows through each of us and therefore we sin.
We as Christians fall short day in and day out. We judge others unfairly all the time. We tend to judge homosexuals very harshly yet we are told throughout the Bible that there is only one perfect and fair judge. Luke:37-38 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Mathew 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
You see when we get into topics such as homosexuality or abortions we all agree if we believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God by His Holy Spirit that these acts are definitly sin. Yet we are also told to love our neighbor as we love ourself. No place does it say to only love our straight neighbors or people that are pro-life. We are told by the Lord to love God with all of our soul and then to love our neighbor. We are told not to ever judge another person as only God can do that perfectly and fairly yet we tend to go against the Word anyways.
I tell you the Truth my brothers and sisters in Christ, if we don't stop tryng to justify our sins as righteous and worry about our own selves we too will be judged fairly and it will not be anything to look forward to. My point is that God loves us all no matter our sexuality. No matter if we have killed a baby through abortion. He loves those of us that have committed adultery and destroyed our lives with drugs and lust. He hates all sin but through the blood of Jesus has washed away our sins and offered us to have life with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I praise our awesome and loving Lord for this and I pray that I am able to stop judging others for their sins and that I can work on my life and rid my life of the sins I struggle with daily. When I am able to accomplish these goals I will be honoring my Lord God with everything I have. I will then be able to love my neighbor in a way that will also show love to Christ as well. This will never be an easy task but yet it will be a task worth accomplishing with rewards far more greater than any of us can ever imagine.
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